The EU Academy, an online hub owned by the European Union (EU), is offering an online course on how EU legislation addresses nanomaterials. The target audience includes: The learning objectives include:...
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The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) issued a May 17, 2023, news item stating that it believes that the European Commission’s (EC) revised Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial, published in June 2022, “is too restrictive and could lead to a regression in the protection of public health and the environment.” ANSES “is therefore urging the French authorities to take a more inclusive definition into account and work...
On May 2, 2023, the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced that it published a guidance document entitled Guidance on the implementation of the Commission Recommendation 2022/C 229/01 on the definition of nanomaterial. As reported in our June 10, 2022, blog item, in June 2022, the EC published a new Recommendation aimed at harmonizing the interpretation of the term “nanomaterial” in regulatory contexts. The updated definition of nanomaterials...
June 10, 2022
EC Revises Definition of Nanomaterials
On June 10, 2022, the European Commission (EC) announced that it is clarifying the definition of nanomaterials in a new Recommendation that supports a coherent European Union (EU) regulatory framework for nanomaterials, helping to align legislation across all sectors. The EC states that the new definition should be used in EU and national legislation, policy, and research programs. The Recommendation states: ‘Nanomaterial’ means a natural, incidental or manufactured...
April 1, 2022
EC’s Public Consultation on Targeted Revision of the Cosmetic Products Regulation Includes Review of Nanomaterial Definition
The European Commission (EC) has begun a public consultation on how the Cosmetic Products Regulation could be improved to ensure human health and the functioning of the internal market. According to the EC, the identified shortcomings include “the lack of coherence between legislations on the definition of nanomaterials.” The EC notes that its October 2020 Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability outlines its goal to protect better the public and the environment against...
August 30, 2021
EC Analyzing Responses to Targeted Stakeholder Consultation Concerning Review of Recommendation on the Definition of a Nanomaterial
As reported in our May 7, 2021, blog item, the European Commission (EC) held a targeted stakeholder consultation as part of its review of the Recommendation on the definition of a nanomaterial. The EC held the consultation to update, test, and verify the preliminary findings of its review, gathering further evidence and feedback from a wide range of stakeholders who have a role in application of the harmonized regulatory definition of nanomaterial in the European Union (EU)....
As reported in our May 7, 2021, blog item, the European Commission (EC) recently held a targeted stakeholder consultation to update, test, and verify the preliminary findings of its review of the 2011 Recommendation on the definition of a nanomaterial. According to a July 23, 2021, news item posted by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), in its response to the consultation, ANSES maintained that the changes proposed by the EC...
On May 31, 2021, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “Updating our language: why we should not paint all nanoforms with the same brush” by Chiara Venturini, Director General of the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA). Venturini reviews how the EU’s language has evolved. In 2011, the European Commission (EC) adopted a definition that describes a nanomaterial as a material at the nanoscale. In 2020, the EC amended Annex II...
May 7, 2021
EC Review of Its Recommendation on the Definition of Nanomaterial Includes Targeted Stakeholder Consultation
In 2011, the European Commission (EC) adopted a Recommendation on the definition of a nanomaterial. The Recommendation invites member states, European Union (EU) agencies, and economic operators to use the definition “in the adoption and implementation of legislation and policy and research programmes concerning products of nanotechnologies.” The EC is now reviewing its Recommendation. It has launched a targeted stakeholder consultation to update, test, and...
The Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie e. V. (VdMi), which represents German manufacturers of inorganic, organic, and metallic pigments, fillers, carbon black, ceramic and glass colors, food colorants, artists’ and school paints, masterbatches, and products for applied photocatalysis, has published a “Comparative Compilation of relevant nano definitions in different regulations and their corresponding consequences.” The compilation notes that pigments and fillers often fall under the...
The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) recently published a JRC Science for Policy Report entitled Identification of nanomaterials through measurements that is intended to support the implementation of the EC’s Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterials (2011/696/EU). It is a follow-up of a previous JRC Science for Policy Report on concepts and terms used in the definition. The present report addresses identification of nanomaterials...
On September 15, 2017, the European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on the revision of the 2011 EC Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial. The EC intended the definition to achieve consistent application of the term nanomaterial across all legislation. The definition includes descriptors that the EC intended to review by December 2014 to ensure that the definition corresponds to the needs. In particular, the review must examine issues where there...
The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced on July 10, 2015, the publication of its third report in its review of the EC recommendation on the definition of a nanomaterial. The report is the last in a series of three, and provides scientific support to the EC in its review of the definition used to identify materials for which special provisions might apply (e.g., for ingredient labeling or safety assessment). According to JRC, as the...
On October 21, 2010, the European Commission (EC) began a consultation on its proposal for a definition of the term “nanomaterial” that the it intends to use as “an overarching, broadly applicable reference term” for any European Union (EU) communication or legislation addressing nanomaterials. The EC states that the definition of the term “nanomaterial” should be based on available scientific knowledge and should be used for regulatory purposes. The definition...